Article

There are three big restored forest areas in Tokyo and Yokohama. These were planted using the main trees of the natural forest for landscaping in Meguro (Tokyo), for restoring natural forest following succession in Shinjuku (Tokyo), and by planting saplings for developing natural forest directly in Yokohama. The biggest area is around the Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine, which was constructed in 1915- 1920 with a designed pine plantation and trees from the flora of selected natural forests, donated from throughout the whole Japanese Archipelago. Now this forest has developed into a semi-natural forest with landscaping trees and successional forests. The second large forest is around the Institute for Nature Study of the National Museum of Nature and Science in Meguro (Tokyo). It began as a lord’s residence during the Kamakura Era, and the grounds became an Imperial estate from 1917. Since then the natural environment has been conserved. It was mostly a Japanese Garden, with old Castanopsis cuspidata var. sieboldii forest on the embankment (believed to have been built during the Muromachi period) and secondary forests. Tall, well-shaped pines (Pinus thunbergii), C. cuspidata var. sieboldii and Quercus acuta with 17 other species (totally 575 trees) were transported from here to the Meiji Jingu Shrine for its construction. Since 1947 the Institute for Nature Study belongs to the Ministry of Education, which opened it to the public. The third large forest is on the Tokiwadai Campus of Yokohama National University (YNU). This site was originally the third-oldest country-club golf course in the Kanto region. The oldest forest, a forest of Castanopsis cuspidata var. sieboldii, was planted on one part of the golf course in 1922. In 1976 and 1979, when all faculties of YNU moved to Tokiwadai, YNU planted saplings of species from the natural forest. Each of these sites developed increasingly natural forests, and many forest species came back. The forests with Castanopsis canopies, i.e. Meiji Jingu Shrine and Institute for Nature Study, have next-generation species on the forest floor. Unfortunately, in the forest of Yokohama National University, the main species planted were Cinnamomum camphora, Quercus glauca, Machilus thunbergii, and Q. myrsinaefolia.; later, a small amount of Castanopsis cuspidata var. sieboldii was planted. The oldest forest, a relic of the former golf-course period, had a canopy of C. cuspidata var. sieboldini, has successors in the forest, and formed a multi-layered forest despite its short history. For the restoration of natural forests, canopy and subcanopy species, plus some shrub species, from natural forests will become the key species. Otherwise there are no sources of seeds to be distributed in urban areas, and restoration of the species richness will take time.